


Trial and Error

by Majinie



Series: Trouble Always Comes In Fours [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everybody is insecure, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Polyamory Negotiations, hah, of sorts, talking about things like adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 16:25:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12016581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majinie/pseuds/Majinie
Summary: “No, you don't get a say in this,” John snapped sharply, eyes flashing, “you don't get to play counsellor, you don't even wanna be in this relationship.”Herc stared at him as though he'd been struck. “I'm sorry?”The scowl etched into John's face deepened. “Oh please, don't give me that, you couldn't make it more obvious you're only here for Laf if you fucking tattooed it on your forehead.”---In which Alex attempts to ease Hercules into the world of polyamory, John is insecure and Herc is a little lost.





	Trial and Error

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note before we get started – I adjusted the ages and back stories a little (more to the boys' backgrounds in separate instalments later), so Lafayette and Alexander are both 24, John is 26 and Hercules 29. Everything else, I think I'll cover in the fic and later ones, but I thought I should establish this.  
> Also, let me speak in John's defence up front, he's insecure and had a bad day, so he lashes out. Be gentle with him.  
> Enjoy!

Easing your way into a relationship was one thing, but doing it with three people at once was another one entirely. Add the way Hercules had more or less been dropped into this like into a pool of ice water, and it was probably to be expected that he didn't always know how to handle himself around his– his boyfriends. He hadn't lied when he had told them he would like to give this relationship a try, hell, he'd be lying through his teeth if he said he _hadn't_ ever thought about John or Alexander in ways that weren't exactly appropriate for someone in a committed relationship while he'd still been solely with Lafayette.

However, that didn't change the fact that he still was most comfortable, or more precisely most at ease around Gil, simply because they had been together since before they'd even really met John and Alexander. Herc just needed some time to settle into things, that was all, he was going to adjust soon enough.

He got a rough wake-up call a few weeks after he'd found himself in bed with the other three.

Since he still knew Hercules' schedule perfectly, Lafayette had come by to pick him up when Herc had closed up his tailor shop for the day and they had gone to pick up groceries for the dinner Gil had planned. It was a little unusual shopping for four instead of two, but Lafayette had announced they would be eating with John and Alexander tonight, which Hercules was more than happy with.

He and Lafayette shared an apartment and so did John and Alex, though Lafayette had more or less moved in with the other two when he and Herc had had their fall out. Now, he divided his time more or less evenly between both locations, with Hercules occasionally coming along to visit John and Alex or the other way around, one or both of them coming over to Lafayette's and Herc's. They made it work.

For this evening, Hercules had agreed to join Gil in visiting the other two, something he didn't do as frequently as the Frenchman did – not for lack of motivation, but because it was easier to feel like he wasn't intruding when he was clearly invited along.

He was laughing at something Lafayette had said when they stepped through the front door of the apartment building and began to make their way up the stairs, chatting amiably about an anecdote from one of Laf's many, ever-changing jobs.

“That isn't all!” Lafayette was laughing, eyes sparkling and a little breathless. “When she had found it, yes? She came back to me and she...” He trailed off, brows furrowing a little, and a second later Herc picked up on the sound of muffled shouting.

They exchanged a worried glance before they picked up their pace up the stairs toward John's and Alex' apartment on the second floor. A moment later, there was the sound of a door opening and John's voice rang out through the stairway loud and clear.

“No, it's because you don't get that not everything is about your fucking work, Alex, if you would get your head out of your–”

“Just because you're so fucking needy you can't let me finish one–” Alexander, interrupting, sounding just as pissed off.

“You know what, _fuck you_ , Alex!”

They reached the top of the stairs just in time to see John slamming the door behind himself forcefully, shoes on his feet with the laces undone and a jacket over his arm. He startled when he saw them, even as Gil spoke up: “John, _mon petit_ –”

“No, not right now, Laf,” John interrupted, pulling on his jacket. “Not a good time.”

He made a move toward the stairs and Herc stepped in his way, a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. “John, hold up, I'm sure if you two–”

John batted his hand away with surprising force. “No, you don't get a say in this,” he snapped sharply, eyes flashing, “you don't get to play counsellor, you don't even wanna _be_ in this relationship.”

Herc stared at him as though he'd been struck. “I'm sorry?”

The scowl etched into John's face deepened. “Oh please, don't give me that, you couldn't make it more obvious you're only here for Laf if you fucking tattooed it on your forehead.” He shouldered past them while Herc was still too stunned to think of a response, just stared at John's retreating back as he rushed down the stairs.

It took him a few seconds to muster the courage to look up at Lafayette, afraid of his reaction, not even sure what he himself felt about John's words. Gil met his eyes, silent for a second, then he reached out to squeeze Hercules' hand for a moment.

“I'll go after him,” he said and handed Herc the bag of groceries he'd been carrying so he could dig into his pocket for the key to the apartment. It made Herc sharply aware that _he_ didn't have one, had never asked for one, and he could see where John was coming from now that he looked at it this way and it was not a pleasant feeling. “You look after our Alexander, _oui_?”

Herc swallowed, accepted the key ring dropped into his palm. “Sure,” he replied quietly. “I'll see you in a bit.”

He got a smile and a “ _merci, mon coeur_ ” in response and then Lafayette was taking off down the stairs after John. Hercules watched him disappear around the corner and then looked up at the door, filled with trepidation.

Well, he'd better get this over with.

With a deep breath, he unlocked the door to the spacious apartment. He toed his shoes off and dropped the keys in the dish by the door before he crossed the short hallway that led into the living room. It was large and open toward the kitchen, with two currently closed doors leading toward the bedroom and the study. There was a bathroom adjacent to the bedroom and another one in the hallway, opposite a supply closet, but apart from that, the flat was mostly open, bright spaces.

Alexander sat on one of the couches in the living room, laptop on his knees and typing away on it furiously, like it had somehow personally offended him.

“Hey,” Herc greeted softly. He got a curt “hi” in response, the swift typing never ceasing, and when nothing else was forthcoming, he moved to deposit the groceries in the kitchen. He was almost grateful for the lack of conversation, which gave him the time to mull over John's words while he busied his hands stowing away what they'd bought.

John had been angry, he reasoned, and he had obviously wanted to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. Surely, he didn't actually think... was that the way Hercules came across to the other two? Sure, he wasn't around too much, but...

He turned at the sound of Alex' laptop snapping shut forcefully, saw him drop it onto the coffee table before he threw himself back into the couch cushions with his arms crossed, glaring at Herc.

“You're thinking so loudly I can't fucking concentrate,” he complained. “Spit it out.”

“I don't...” Hercules hesitated for a second before he set the packet of pasta he'd been holding down on the counter with a sigh. “Yeah, okay.” He ambled back into the living room so he could drop into the armchair next to the couch Alex was sitting on. Part of him wanted to open his mouth and just start _talking_ , but another, bigger part knew he wasn't going to find the right words, so he inclined his head toward where John had stormed off instead. “So what was that all about?”

Alexander sighed deeply and kicked his socked feet up onto the coffee table, arms still folded stubbornly. “It's not a big deal.”

“It kinda sounded like one.”

That earned him an eye-roll. “I was trying to concentrate and John kept distracting me. He _knows_ I hate that, it's not like it's a new thing how I get with work.” It would have seemed defensive from anyone else, but Alex sounded wholly unapologetic.

Herc raised his eyebrows at the younger man. “It doesn't usually end this heatedly though,” he pointed out.

A shrug from Alex. “We clashed. I got snappy, he was cranky, he's gonna be back and we'll kiss and make up, we always do.”

“And that's it?” he asked, a little incredulously. “Kiss and make up and you're good.” Of course, he'd been friends with John and Alex for a long time and there had been rough patches, but all in all, they'd always seemed like one of the most harmonious couples he knew.

Alex threw his arms up. “Look, we fight, it happens. It doesn't happen a _lot_ , but sometimes things just boil over. We always cool down pretty quickly, it's okay, it's _human_.” He dropped his hands to his lap and looked over at Herc. “Are we gonna talk about what John said to you or...?”

Hercules almost winced at the abrupt change in topic, looking down at the floor. Of course Alexander would have heard that, John hadn't exactly been quiet, after all. “You know that wasn't true, right?” When he looked back up, he found Alex watching him intently, a small frown marring his features.

“Isn't it? Because it sure feels like it sometimes,” he answered, his voice flat.

Hercules gaped at him for a second, taken aback both by Alex' bluntness and the fact that he and John seemed so naturally on the same page about this. “Well, that's not how it is,” he protested weakly. Alex raised his eyebrows, silent for once, and Herc leaned forward to reach out to him before he stopped in his tracks, hand half-extended.

“ _That_ ,” Alexander spoke up, sudden and sharp like a whip, and Herc pulled his arm back as though he'd been burned. Alex shook his head, an almost pained look in his eyes. “No, that's not how I– I'm your _boyfriend_ , Herc, you can _touch_ me, and you don't need a written invitation every time you wanna come over, and– I feel like I see less of you now than I did before we got together, and it's ridiculous!”

“I knew what to _do_ around y'all before!” Herc blurted out.

Alex stared at him. “Okay, now _that_ is ridiculous, I've seen you and Laf for years, it's not like you don't know how to act in a relationship. Don't give me that.”

“No, but I _know_ Gil,” Herc interjected.

“You've known us almost as long as him, it's not like you don't–” he began, scowling.

“That's not what I meant, we've been a thing since y'all were still in college, I know how to be in a relationship with him!” Hercules ventured, desperate to get his point across. “I don't know what John and you expect me to be like in this.”

Alexander sputtered. “Seriously? You're going Burr on me with this?” He swung his legs off the table so he could lean forward, fixate Herc with an intense look out of dark eyes. “We told you we wanted you around, right? That we wanted you in on this.” Hercules glanced down briefly, which the younger man seemed to take as a prompt to press on: “You don't need to be walking on eggshells around us. We're all adults, if something's wrong, we can tell you.” When Herc met his gaze the next time, he held it. “When you get home to Laf, what's the first thing you do?”

“Uhm...” The question caught him off-guard and he tilted his head at Alex, trying to figure out where he was going with this. “I– well, you know, the usual? Whatever you do when you get home to your partner.”

“No, come on, details. Tell me. Just indulge me here for a moment, Herc,” Alexander persevered. “Go on.”

Hercules shrugged. “I dunno, I get home, drop my stuff, give him a kiss, probably complain about some snotty customer, we see who makes dinner? It depends on the day we've had, obviously.”

“Okay. So?”

Herc blinked at him. “So what?”

Alex spread his arms wide, palms up. “So, you got home, you dropped your stuff, where's my hello-kiss?” His expectant expression didn't waver even as Herc made a small _oh_ -sound of understanding, so the older man got up and tentatively shuffled over toward the couch.

He hovered there for a moment, taking in the sight of Alex looking up at him with large, brown eyes that gleamed challengingly, like he was daring Herc to prove his point. Then, he leaned down to brush his lips over Alexander's lightly before he turned the touch into a proper kiss, felt Alex melt into it with a quiet hum, hands coming up to rest on Hercules' shoulders. Herc himself felt some of his nervous tension drain away, soothed with the slow, gentle nature of the kiss, and Alex gave him a soft smile when they parted, patting the cushion next to himself.

“There, see? Things like that,” he muttered as Herc sank down onto the couch next to him. “I hope you're aware you're gonna be staying the night.” He plastered himself to Hercules' side after he'd pulled the laptop back onto his knees and Herc wrapped an arm around his shoulders, felt Alex relax against him.

“Sounds good,” he replied quietly while Alex opened his laptop, apparently having decided that he'd explained enough. “...I'm gonna need to have this conversation with John, too, aren't I.”

Alex huffed a laugh next to him. “Or you could just, you know, try and kiss him. Because he's your boyfriend. You don't need to wait for his permission, you got that when we got you into bed with us.” The last bit was underlined with a cheeky smile and Herc chuckled quietly, ducking his head. Alex grinned up at him. “Oh, come on, don't get shy on me _now_ , it's a little late for that,” he teased.

Hercules poked him in the ribs in retaliation, drawing an undignified squeak from the smaller man. “I'm not _shy_ and you know it.”

“Oh, but that's not the impression I've been getting from you lately.” Alex was blatantly needling him now, mischief in his eyes, and Hercules raised his eyebrows at the laptop pointedly.

“What happened to not distracting you from your work?”

There was a contemplative, frankly adorable pout on Alex' face for a moment before he snapped the device shut once again. “I can't concentrate anymore, either way. You have successfully thrown off my groove, I hope you're proud of yourself.”

Herc put his free hand to his chest dramatically. “Distracting the great Alexander Hamilton from his work! I should get a medal or something,” he teased back, grinning, and then Alex was muttering _shut up_ at him and leaning up to kiss him again, more insistent than before. One of his hands clenched around the fabric of Herc's shirt and Hercules pulled him closer with the arm still wrapped around his shoulders. Alex moved to straddle him a moment later, easily setting the pace of their kiss, focussed and determined.

Hercules wrapped his arms around the other man's waist and marvelled silently at how different kissing Alex was from kissing Lafayette, starting with Alexander's slighter frame and the feeling of his less full, slightly chapped lips and the way he pushed where Gil would usually let Herc take control.

Alex was starting to tug Hercules' shirt free from his trousers when the lock to the front door clicked and they broke apart, a little sheepish. Alex twisted to look over his shoulder as Lafayette entered with his arm wrapped around a disgruntled-looking John's waist.

It was almost comical to see both of them raising their eyebrows simultaneously, Gil with a spark of amusement and John with his lips pressing into a thin line.

“Really, Alex,” he said flatly. “Gosh, I'm so sorry for _distracting_ you earlier, did me getting out of the house help you get some work done?”

For a brief moment, Alexander's hands tightened on Herc's sides and he frowned, then slid off the other's lap to stand up and turn toward John properly. Hercules locked eyes with Lafayette, part of him still getting used to the feeling that no, he hadn't just been caught doing something indecent, this was absolutely within the boundaries of their relationship now. Not that they hadn't given each other free passes before, but that was a story for another time.

“No need to be a dick about this, John,” Alex griped. “You know perfectly well that I can't concentrate when we fought, especially when you fly off the handle and run off like that.”

John's eyebrows rose a little higher on his forehead. “If I came back here to listen to you calling me dramatic, then –”

“That's not what I meant!” Alexander's stance shifted into something more defensive, hands raised in a placating gesture. “I was an ass, I get it, you know what I'm like when I'm working.” John grumbled some vague agreement while Alex shuffled toward him, Lafayette and Hercules watching silently, and reached out to grasp both of John's hands. “Hey,” he whispered, making John look up.

“Oh, come on, you're gonna break out the puppy eyes on me? How is that fair?” he whined.

Alex snickered and took another little step closer. “All is fair in love and war,” he said solemnly and John huffed a laugh despite himself, rolling his eyes.

For a moment, the palpable tension in the room eased up, then the freckled man looked over Alex' shoulder at Herc on the couch and it was back with a vengeance, hanging in the air thickly enough to cut it with a knife.

Hercules swallowed, replaying the conversation he'd had with Alex earlier – however, he very much doubted that John would appreciate Herc walking up to him and kissing him right now. There was no way around it, they were going to have to do this properly.

“Maybe we should talk about...”

“Could we not?” John cut him off. “Look, I probably just shoulda kept my mouth shut about the whole thing–” Herc opened his mouth to interrupt, but both Alex and Laf beat him to it, talking over each other.

“Yeah, 'cause that sounds like healthy communication, Jacky–”

“ _Tu sais que c'est pas comme_ _les relations–_ ”

“Alright, alright, hold your horses!” John levelled them both with a glare as he kicked his shoes off. “Fine. Let's _talk_.” He strode into the living room so he could drop into the armchair that Herc had vacated in favour of joining Alex on the couch earlier. He twisted his curls into a messy bun, then leaned back, arms folded and legs crossed at the ankles.

Gil and Alexander had followed John and were now hovering at the edge of the sitting space. After a moment, Alex seemed to want to say something, but Lafayette reached out and pulled him back by his hand.

“Actually, _mon cher_ , I think we ought to let these two have a little conversation of their own, yes?” He gave John a meaningful look and for a moment, there seemed to be some sort of silent communication going on between them, making Herc wonder what _they_ had discussed while he and Alex had talked.

John sank further into the armchair with a murmured “yeah, yeah” after a few seconds and Lafayette gave them both a brilliant smile before he pulled Alex into the kitchen and thus granted them some illusion of privacy. Hercules was trying to find a way to initiate this particular talk when John took it from him.

“Alright, so I talked to Laf, and I know what I said before was...”

“A low blow?” Hercules supplied flatly.

John pursed his lips into a thin line once again, averting his eyes, and inclined his head in a way that could have been a nod with a lot of goodwill. “Kinda, yeah,” he admitted. Then, some defiance returned to his voice. “But seriously, Herc – look, I'm not gonna force you into anything you're not comfortable with or you don't want, none of us would, so if you don't wanna do this–”

“That's not it!” Herc cut in, shaking his head vehemently. “Jesus, John, I don't want–”

“We can work something out,” John plunged on without looking at him, “if you wanna go back to just dating Laf–”

“Okay, John, stop, _please_ ,” he interrupted, “don't pull an Alex on me now, let me get a fucking word in edgewise, would ya? I _don't want out_.”

John risked a glance up at him and Herc had to swallow at the vulnerability in his eyes. The younger man seemed so convinced, so set on the idea that Hercules just didn't want him, it caused a stab of guilt that was damn near physically painful.

“I heard that!” Alex called from the kitchen, followed by something quiet, unintelligible from Laf and a quiet grumble before the only sounds were those of pots, pans and other kitchen utensils. Herc couldn't help the small smile that stole its way onto his lips and he caught the spark of amusement in John's expression, too.

“Look, I said I'd like to try this and I meant it. I talked to Alex–”

“Yeah, looked like it was a pretty good talk,” John chimed in drily, but there was no spite in his tone. Maybe a hint of teasing, even.

“The point being,” Herc continued, “I realise how it must have looked to you two and I swear that wasn't my intention, I'm just still getting used to the whole poly thing, it's kind of,” he waved a hand vaguely, “a lot?”

John nodded slowly, warily. “I get that,” he admitted. “I guess it can be a lot if you jump from one person to three.”

Herc nodded. “I also get that I could have tried harder,” he added. “So I'm gonna be... doing that.” For a moment, they remained in their seats, neither really sure where to go from here. “So... are we good?”

“S'pose we are,” John agreed tentatively. He still looked like he was expecting the other shoe to drop at any moment, like any movement might shatter their current peace.

Then, helpful as ever, Alex poked his head into the room from the kitchen. “Would you like me to print you written invitations or are you gonna kiss now? I can show you how it works if you want me to...” Lafayette said something in fondly exasperated French while he pulled the other man away from the doorway by the back of his shirt, eliciting an outraged squeak as he did.

John had flipped him off over his shoulder, laughing quietly to himself, and now he grinned at Herc as he pushed himself up from the armchair. The nervous tension was melting away, bit by bit, and John was extending an arm toward him to help him up.

“Wanna go join those two in the kitchen before they burn the house down because they were too busy making out?”

Herc chuckled and accepted the proffered hand as he got up as well. As soon as he was standing, John got up onto his tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips, short but firm, and Hercules couldn't help but mirror his smile once John had dropped back onto his heels. Something in his chest was lightening as he was pulled toward the kitchen.

It wasn't perfect by far, he knew that, they would have to work on this, but it was a start.

~*~

A few days later, his phone chimed with a notification from their group chat while he was closing up his shop for the evening.

_Alex: @Herc and Laf, are you coming over tonight?_

_Gil: Why, of course. What's for dinner?_

_Alex: Me!_

_John: You wish._

Hercules chuckled in the empty shop, killed the lights and went to lock the door before he typed out his own answer.

_Herc: I can be there in 20_

_Alex: John said he wanted to make pasta._

_Herc: Make that 15._

_Alex: You wound me._

_Alex: He's not even home yet._

When Herc rang the doorbell a quarter of an hour later, it was indeed just Alex who greeted him, Lafayette and John had yet to arrive. Since by the time he'd climbed the steps to the apartment and slipped through the door Alex had left ajar, said man was already back on the couch with a laptop on his lap and a concentrated frown on his face, Hercules simply pressed a kiss to his forehead in passing and then got comfortable in an armchair. There was a half-finished scarf in his bag which he pulled out and they sat in pleasant silence, each immersed in their work, until the lock clicked.

John had his hair pulled back into a bun, but had still somehow managed to get streaks of paint in it, just like on his shirt, pants and parts of his face and sleeves.

“I need a shower,” was the first thing he said upon entering, followed by “hi”, like an afterthought.

Despite his complaints, he seemed in a good, almost giddy mood, grinning over at the two of them, and Hercules watched curiously as he untied his shoes, slipped off his jacket and began rummaging in his bag while he crossed the hallway toward the living room. “Hey, Herc?”

“Yeah?”

“Think fast.” The warning came just in time for him to drop the scarf and catch the folded piece of paper John had tossed in his direction. He looked up at the younger man questioningly and John just made an impatient hand gesture at him while he stepped into the living room proper. “Go on, open it.” Upon closer examination, the piece of paper turned out to be an envelope, folded in half, with something in it – that explained the weight at least. So he complied, feeling the others' eyes on him as he did, and John continued: “The round one is for downstairs and the other's for the flat itself. No more excuses for not coming by.”

Hercules stared at the gleaming, new keys in his palm for a second before he looked back up at John, who was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking expectant.

Very carefully, Herc set the scarf and the keys aside before he opened his arms invitingly and requested: “C'mere?”

Judging by the grin on John's face, it had been the right thing to say.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm probably gonna be writing backstories for the boys, as in their first meetings if you'd like to read that? (So many plot bunnies.)  
> And as always, if there's anything you'd like to read in this series, feel free to tell me! (Or yell at me on tumblr, same name as here!)


End file.
